On these pages in recent days, there has been a lot of discussion about getting flu shots.
I have a dog named Grace.
We’re all grappling with a lot right now. From the heartbreaking impacts of the pandemic and our broken health care system, to the impacts of systemic racism, and the death of the incomparable Ruth Bader Ginsburg and its ramifications for the Supreme Court ... I could go on. But another inte…
Many of us love going to the polls on Election Day. Joining in-person with our friends, family, and neighbors to participate in the civic process has always been something I look forward to every election year.
One cannot argue against the basic human thesis that “All Lives Matter.” Most — if not all — believe that, for as long as humans have existed, virtually all advanced civilizations have supported and defended that proposition, many with their lives. In fact, that precept has never been in dou…
As if we needed another shadow obscuring the dwindling light of early autumn, we learned last weekend that within two hours of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — circling like a vulture — pledged that he, Donald Trump and their GOP Senate colleagues, woul…
Sitting here at my desk with a second cup of coffee, on the cusp of the autumnal equinox and gathering darkness, after our third straight night of frost, with morning sunlight flooding the yard and garage doors (just as I planned years ago), with Kiki snoozing in the recliner behind me, it w…
The 2020 elections might turn out to be the most consequential of the 21st century so far — for Vermonters and for all Americans. At the national stage, in the midst of a global pandemic and economic downturn, a heated and unusual presidential election is drawing closer to its end. Whatever …
In the last years of his short life, Randolph Churchill, Winston’s father, suffered a marked mental deterioration, most likely attributable to a brain tumor. Lord Randolph continued nonetheless to attend sessions of Parliament, where he’d rise and attempt to speak as he once had. The result …
I stand here today with an incredibly heavy heart. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — a tireless, legendary, champion of equality who reshaped our society for the better — passed away on Friday, the first eve of Rosh Hashanah. Adherents of the Jewish faith believe that a person who passes away du…
In a truly great country, all people would feel safe and unafraid in their homes. Evidently, we are not quite great yet.
I was saddened to read that Tabitha Moore felt compelled to sell her home.
Ms. Olivia Campbell-Andersen is the executive director of Renewable Energy Vermont, an organization of more than a hundred businesses, law firms and lobbyists peddling subsidies for wind and solar electricity. It should come as no surprise that she is quick to try to dispel the idea Californ…
It has become clear to me that I can't be elected to serve as representative for our district of Cavendish and Weathersfield.
To people who park in handicapped parking spots and shouldn't — then place their shopping carts in this particular spot: You know that's being ignorant, correct?
Donald Trump thinks that the federal government should be run as a business; that its purpose is to facilitate making money. He has stripped federal departments of funding, reversed regulations and reduced taxes for the wealthy, to his own financial benefit and for major corporations.
In his June 11, 1963, Civil Rights Address, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy asked the nation: “If an American because his skin is dark cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot send his children to the best public schools available, if he cannot vote for the public …
McConnell, Trump and William Barr: Triumvirate is what they are. Unlawful governance (so dark) is how they choose to leave their mark (like boys who write their names in snow). This loathsome threesome has to go.
This is what the Caledonian Record had to say about a decision by the Department of Public Safety to block the release juveniles’ names in criminal cases:
In March, the Vermont Legislature was concerned with the dangers of the evolving coronavirus that experts said could sweep the state infecting tens of thousands of Vermonters and killing hundreds. As a result of their concerns, the Legislature took several emergency actions to mitigate the s…
As a university professor who has worked for educators in the U.S. Congress and was raised by high school teachers, I’m constantly thinking about the education system and how best to equip the next generation of leaders. I’ve also been interviewing educators throughout Vermont, as schools ca…
It is encouraging that more Vermonters are getting back to work. For now.
As the mom of a 6- and a 9-year-old, I’m starting to get tough questions about climate change. (Yes, elementary kids know all about climate change.) They are problem-solvers and have been taught that we can do hard things when we work together. None of the answers I’ve given them about why w…
The end of August marked the return of many of our students to campus. Beyond the masks, the intense new cleaning regimens and mandatory COVID-19 testing, the return of students has brought back a semblance of normalcy during these strange and unsettling times. Their return has also provided…
Alexei Navalny is the Russian opposition leader who was recently poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent that’s Vladimir Putin’s preferred means of disposing of old spies and new political leaders who displease him. I was listening to a spokesman for the Russian president, who was s…
There are many eye-opening revelations in the book just out by Donald Trump’s personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, titled “Disloyal,” and his on-the-record discussions about the book. One of Cohen’s revelations is Trump has absolutely no respect for evangelical Christianity and the prea…
Perhaps Donald Trump’s greatest — most significant, anyway — accomplishment since he took office has been transforming his felonious incompetence into a political issue, even though as systems collapse around him, the void(s) left behind impact the entire country, party affiliation notwithst…
In the wake of this summer’s rolling blackouts in California and now devastating wildfires, the commentary by Mr. McClaughry of the Ethan Allen Institute not only denied the existence of the climate crisis, but falsely blamed renewable electricity — wind, solar and hydro — for the power outages.
The Legislature’s Global Warming Solutions Act has been a centerpiece of the legislative session. It has become something of a rallying cry, an outlet even, for our collective concern and well-founded worry about our changing climate. Legislators have presented this bill as solving the clima…
I believe global warming is real and caused by human actions. The news coverage of wildfires raging out of control and melting ice caps is horrifying and I believe every country should be doing its part to reduce the impact we are having on the climate.
Thank you to Sens. Hooker and McNeil and Reps. Howard, Jerome, Potter and Chesnut-Tangerman, who supported the Vermont Global Warming Solutions Act.
I respect Project VISION for attempting to take a stance on racism in our community but feel it was a safe response. Project VISION grew because of a dangerous crisis — the opioid epidemic — in our community. People wanted change, came together to make it happen, and this effort grew into Pr…
I am not convinced that electric cars and solar panels will reverse our climate change problems.
Anyone who spends any time on social media quickly comes to grips with three things: First, facts get in the way of agendas; second, that most people are actually incapable of a meaningful discussion (notice we did not say debate) about what’s going on in the nation and world; and third, mor…
My opponent for Rutland Town’s House of Representatives seat doth protest too much. He missed the point regarding my concerns over the abrupt closure of Thomas Dairy, a 99-year-old Rutland Town family business that employed 30 people.
No one should have to live in their home in fear. No one should have to leave their home in fear. Home is a physical space, but it also should be the place where we go for respite and shelter, to replenish ourselves from the onslaught of life in the outside world.
After watching this Chuck E. Cheese commercial with children wearing masks, a woman as a voice-over chimes that "kids can get back to being kids." Come on, really? I'll believe it when they can remove the masks permanently.
This is what the Bangor (Maine) Daily News had to say recently about the eviction ban being considered:
For all the struggles that went into reopening schools this summer, Nature did smile on Vermont's teachers and learners this week as our kids returned to school: conditions have been perfect for outdoor activity. Going in circles around my hay fields, I had a lot of time to think and feel a …
In summer 2012, a large and diverse group of citizens gathered to ask what could be done about the growing opioid crisis affecting our community. That group ultimately became known as Project VISION, an eclectic coalition of virtually every agency and organization dedicated to the welfare of…
I have to agree with Butch Paul on the "Raider" name. Has the Rutland School Board looked into a dictionary for the definition of a raider?
"When we get into April,” we were told, “in warmer weather, it will disappear.” This lie is old (by more than half a year), and soon the weather will be freezing cold.
All lives matter — except George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Daniel Prude, Jacob Blake and countless others. And it seems here in our little state, all lives matter except Kiah Morris and now Tabitha Moore.
I think most of us are furious at our leadership, especially as obfuscation seems ready to kill as many Americans as World War II did. But I am most disturbed for our children, who see the president cultivating hatred with nasty bigotry, unseemly language, urging illegal actions and the unbe…
September’s National Recovery Month observance invites reflection on “recovery” and reminds us that recovery from addictive substance use and/or mental illness is worth seeking and protecting.
On social media, my opponent disappointingly has made disparaging comments about me and what I “should have done,” or what I “didn’t do to help save” Thomas Dairy from closing. I want to point out that I was never contacted by anyone in regard to this situation. From my understanding, neithe…
Five Questions With
Just over three months ago we started “Five Questions With ...” to put a human face to this pandemic. Today marks the final installment in this stage of the project, but it will continue with a new set of questions more focused on Vermont’s recovery. Here, Paul Costello, of Montpelier, offer…
Marlee Brunton, of Middlesex, talks about the pandemic and its effects on her family.
Marlee Brunton, of Middlesex, talks about the pandemic and its effects on her family.
Alayna Martel, of Barre Town, is a registered nurse at UVM Medical Center. She talks about how, as a frontline workers, her life has been affected by the pandemic.
Gayle Townsend-Lang, of Rutland, works full time wearing many hats for the Rutland City Public Schools as “Miss Gayle.” Here she talks about how she has been affected by the pandemic.
Stefanie Schaffer, of Rutland, talks about how she has been coping with self-isolation and dealing with the pandemic.
Stefanie Schaffer, of Rutland, talks about how she has been coping with self-isolation and dealing with the pandemic.
Yankee Notebook columnist Willem Lange, of East Montpelier, talks about how he has been affected by self-isolation and the pandemic.
CPA Thomas Lauzon, of Barre, discusses how his life has been affected by the pandemic and self-isolation. Earlier this spring Lauzon was named to the governor’s Economic Mitigation & Recovery Task Force.
Chrispin White, of Rutland, discusses how he has been adapting to self-isolation and how the pandemic has been affecting him.
Christina Sweet, of Rutland, discusses how she and her family have been affected by the pandemic and self-isolation over these months.
Educator and Vermont Mountaineers General Manager Brian Gallagher, of East Montpelier, discusses how the pandemic has affected his life. Earlier this spring, the Mountaineers’ organizers announced they would cancel the 2020 season.
Cat Heatley, of Rutland, talks about how her life has been affected by the pandemic in recent weeks.
Cat Heatley, of Rutland, talks about how her life has been affected by the pandemic in recent weeks.
Salon owner and fitness instructor April Rogers Farnham, of Plainfield, talks about how she has been affected by self-isolation.
Barre Partnership Executive Director Tracie Lewis talks about self-isolation and how the pandemic has been affecting her life.
Montpelier writer Thomas Greene discusses how he has been affected by self-isolation and the pandemic.
Drew Smith, of Rutland, talks about self-isolation and how the pandemic has affected his life.
Jessica Van Orman talks about her experience in self-isolation and how the pandemic has affected her life.
Artist Jen Rondinone, of Rutland, reflects on self-isolation and how the pandemic has affected her and her family.
Mark Breen, the "Eye on the Sky" guy from the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury, shares his thoughts in self-isolation and how the pandemic has been affecting his life.
Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe discusses how self-isolation and the pandemic have affected his life.
Executive Director of the Paramount Bruce Bouchard, of Rutland, talks about how his life has been affected by the pandemic and its consequences.
Stay-at-home mom and low-income advocate Roni Lynn Shrout, of Montpelier, discusses how the pandemic has affected her family.
Carrie Allen, of Rutland, explains how she has been coping with self-isolation and what she hopes will come from it after the pandemic is over.
Vermont cartoonist Tim Newcomb provides a bit of levity to his answers about self-isolation and how he is coping.
Recovery Vermont’s Melissa Story, of Montpelier, shares her thoughts on self-isolation and how it has affected her.
Major Jackson is a poet and professor at the University of Vermont. He lives in South Burlington.
Former governor Jim Douglas shared his thoughts on self-isolation.
Danziger: Five Questions With